There was an air of anger and frustration when the final whistle blew at the Estadio Carlos Belmonte on Sunday. Heads were bowed, some simply stood and gazed into the distance, while others had some heated exchanges with the travelling supporters. Málaga had just lost again, in a topsy-turvy encounter against Albacete, and it leaves them in a perilous position in the table.
This result, coupled with Racing Santander’s win on Monday night, left the Andaluz side eight points from safety, with many Malaguistas now not just fearing the worst, but expecting it.
Ten years ago, Málaga were preparing to take on Porto in the last 16 of the Champions League, enjoying a dream run to the quarter-finals in their debut season in the competition. It was only a controversial offside goal for Jürgen Klopp’s Borussia Dortmund which finally ended their hopes. With Manuel Pellegrini at the helm and a squad including Isco, Joaquín and Jérémy Toulalan, times were good for Los Boquerones.
But things quickly went downhill when the extent of their unsustainable overspend became clear, leading to protests against the owners and growing discontent. Such events have been widely documented, including by La Liga Lowdown in 2020.
The decline was ratified in 2018 with their relegation from LaLiga to Segunda with a paltry tally of just 20 points. They responded strongly the following season, finishing third, but lost in the play-offs to Deportivo La Coruña. Mid-table obscurity followed, but in 2021/22 they survived by the skin of their teeth, ending up two points clear of the drop zone.
This season the insecurity is growing. They have failed to win since Christmas, managing only four wins in the league all season. To discover how much worse things could become, they need only to look at Dépor, the side who shared in their relegation and agonsing play-off heartbreak the year after. Now, the Galician side are in the third tier, striving to make it back into the professional game.
Sunday’s game was a typical example of their season so far, a microcosm of the chaos engulfing the club and the team. They conceded early through a defensive lapse, then could have fallen further behind, only to rally and take the lead. Then a moment of madness saw their captain, Luis Muñoz, booked for a scuffle and then proceed to protest the decision so restlessly that he was shown the second yellow and dismissed.
To receive such a recklessly cheap expulsion, having just taken the lead away from home before half time is almost unforgivable, yet typical of their struggles. Inevitably, Albacete turned the game around in the second half.
Since relegation in 2018, Málaga have had eight coaches in five seasons, and endured a ten-month winless streak at home from December 2021 to last October. Current coach Sergio Pellicer is back for a second stint in that time, and faces a challenge of gargantuan proportions. Every game is a must win right now.
Off the field there has been further upheaval. Sporting Director Manolo Gaspar left the club and has been replaced earlier this month by Kike Pérez, who will become the club’s new general manager with a wider-reaching remit. The ownership issues are still to be legally resolved, keeping the club under the temporary rule of administrator José María Muñoz.
There are so many parallels to draw between their plight and that of Valencia in the league above. A decade on from the glittering lights of Champions League nights, Málaga could be facing their darkest times yet.